Operating in the least developed circles of India, Reliance Telecom, however, achieved an impressive growth of 170 percent in its subscriber base, and recorded a total billed revenue of Rs. 126.45 crore, as estimated by Voice&Data. The net (adjusted gross) revenue was of the order of Rs 98 crore.

Madhya Pradesh continued to be the top revenue earner, accounting for 35.1 percent of the total revenue, while Bihar followed closely with 30.7 percent. Orissa circle operations contributed 11.8 percent, while Assam contributed 10.3 percent. Thanks to the roaming revenue, Himachal, with a very small subscriber base, contributed for as much as 4.8 percent. The rest came from North East and West Bengal.

The subscriber base break-up was Madhya Pradesh (35.6 percent), Bihar (32.7 percent), Orissa (12.6 percent), West Bengal (8.5 percent), Assam (8 percent), Hiamachal (1.6 percent), and North East (1 percent). Though the total subscriber base is relatively smaller with 1.86 lakh subscribers by March 2001, Reliance today has one of the highest prepaid customer bases.

It changed its billing system last year, went out for aggressive tariff plans, and reached to remote areas. The result: a 400 plus percent growth in North East and three-figure growth in all its circles. With the parent company getting aggressive in long distance and mobile, Reliance Telecom, operating largely in eastern India, will be a company to watch out for. Especially its rural marketing strategy.